LOCAL POLICE SERVICES HELP WITH MARIJUANA ERADICATION PROJECT

HANOVER -Hanover Police Services and West Grey Police were two local
detachments involved in OSABOT -a five-day marijuana eradication
program that brought in a street value of more than $5 million worth
of marijuana from southwestern Ontario.

The collaboration and co-operation of nine different police services
made the eradication successful, said Constable Laurence Yim of the
RCMP Kitchener Detachment, in a press release.

With the joined efforts, the marijuana plants were located, seized and
destroyed.

The eradication took place from Mon., Aug. 25, to Fri., Aug.
29.

When The Post contacted Const. Yim by phone, he couldn't give the
exact locations where the marijuana was seized but he said there was
marijuana seized from this area.

Yim said information and intelligence shared by federal, provincial,
regional and municipal police services helped to identify a number of
outdoor marijuana grow sites. The eradication included human and
technical resources.

Yim said the main goal of the eradication was to remove the plants
from areas and stop them from turning into profit for dealers and keep
the drug from the streets.

The press release said that the success of Project OSABOT directly
impacts and reduces the amount of marijuana available for distribution
into our communities. Proceeds gained from illegal profiteering have
been linked to the financing of other criminal activities or organized
crime.

Yim said that with an outdoor grow operation, it is much more
difficult to catch who is conducting the grow operation. Indoor
operations are, he said, in almost all circumstances, directly related
to the owner of the home.

With outdoor grow operations, there are a vast number of
possibilities. A person who owns a very large piece of property could
have a grow operation on their field, and never know. He said it's not
always directly related to the person who owns the property.

Yim said it isn't always easy for the officers to enter into a
grow-op. He added that there can be booby traps laid out, explaining
that officers can face anything from something just making a noise to
a shotgun setup meant to seriously harm someone.

There were nine police services involved in the eradication. Others
included Waterloo Region Police Service, Guelph Police Service,
Stratford Police Service, Saugeen Shores Police Service, and Oxford
Community Police Service.